Meet the Former Priest Who Says the Vatican is to Blame
Tom Kane knew his calling was to be a priest. And from his days in a seminary through his early years serving at a college, he couldn’t have been happier. But the longer he remained a priest, the more disillusioned he became with the Vatican’s conservative doctrines, its disconnect with the poor and its male-dominated authoritarianism. Finally, after a decade of service, he left the Church, and for a time, became an atheist.
Kane isn’t alone in his dissatisfaction with the Church. In recent years millions of 18- to 29 year-old Catholics—fed up with the sexual abuse scandals and the bias against gays and women—have also rejected Catholicism and left the Church. The problem is so bad, says one study, that if ex-Catholics were counted as their own religious group, they would be the third-largest denomination in the U.S.
Invite Kane on your show to examine this growing problem to discuss:
- 3 things the Church needs to do to become relevant in 2014.
- What Pope Francis I is saying about the Church’s shortcomings.
- How the Vatican continues to alienate nuns and Catholics, worldwide.
CREDENTIALS: Former priest Tom Kane left the Church after becoming disillusioned with the Vatican’s out-of-date doctrines. Since then he’s been a professor, public relations executive, consultant and newspaper
editor. His second book is GOOD CHURCH BAD CHURCH: One Priest’s Indictment Against the Vatican.
AVAILABILITY: PA, nationwide by arrangement and via telephone
CONTACT: Tom Kane, (570) 253-8475 (PA); tkane@ptd.net; www.tomkane.net